Unbiased crop management advice

Tag Archives: cleavers

Post navigation

Herbicides work best when weeds are small. Period. Exclamation mark. You get the gist…

There’s perhaps no better example of this than cleavers. Take a quick flip through the Guide to Field Crop Protection and you’ll notice that most herbicides with activity on cleavers only guarantee control/suppression of this weed when applied between the 1 to 4 whorl stage. Although this staging is most common, application timing may be limited to as few as 2 whorls or extend up to the 8 whorl stage, depending on the product. There are also herbicides that are somewhat ambiguous as to cleavers staging but research and experience have shown that, when it comes to herbicide application to cleavers, the smaller the better.

It makes sense then that a recent question on CropTalk Westman was: ‘How do you stage cleavers?’

Whorled leaves, one of cleavers most distinctive features, results in a herbicide application staging unique to this weed. Staging cleavers is similar to other weeds with a few simple tweaks:

Find the main stem. Identifying the main stem is an important step in staging crops and weeds. But this is often easier said than done with cleavers because of its creeping habit and similar sized branches. If you can’t find the main stem, just be sure to pick the stem with the highest number of whorls present.

Don’t count the cotyledons. Only the true leaves count when staging plants. The cotyledons of cleavers are oval to oblong with a notch at the tip and are easy to distinguish from the true leaves.

Each whorl counts. Unlike most other weeds, cleavers have a whorled leaf arrangement, with each whorl having ~4 to 8 leaves (usually 6). In this case, simply count each whorl along the main stem rather than each leaf (see figure & example below).

Post navigation

Reference material

Approximately 84% of the 2019 crop has been seeded. Early seeded fields have emerged and those just seeded are germinating. Rainfall is needed to continue growth and to encourage yield in more advanced fall seeded winter wheat and fall rye. Pasture/hayland also need rain for re-growth and to feed livestock. For the full report see […]

Cool conditions persisted early last week in all of Manitoba. Seeding progress is approximately 50% complete in Manitoba, with some areas having limited seeding (eg. The Pas). Pasture/hayland conditions rated as Fair to Poor in most areas of the province. Rainfall is required in nearly all areas of agro-Manitoba for successful crops and forages. For […]

Cool conditions have slowed field operations in most areas. Seeding progress for spring cereals and peas ranges from 5 to 100% complete. Some areas in Central and Eastern regions complete. Weed emergence and growth is occurring despite cool conditions, with winter annuals dominating, but closely followed by kochia, lamb’s quarters, volunteer canola and foxtail species. […]

Spruce is a common grown shelterbelt tree in Manitoba. They prefer acid soils, that are coarse textured with good drainage, have adequate water and sheltered from extreme weather conditions. If conditions are not ideal, the trees will begin to decline and become more susceptible to pests. If your trees are declining and you are considering using a […]

If malathion is in your shed, it may be time to revisit your inventory. According to a recent advisory issued by Health Canada (http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2017/63150a-eng.php), Malathion products purchased prior to June 2016 should not be used. This advisory applies to all products including agricultural and mosquito control products containing malathion. The advisory was issued because over an […]

Archives

News releases

Did you know you can view the 2017 edition of Seed Manitoba, as well as past editions, on www.seedmb.ca? Well, you can! Flip-view digital editions of the current guide (2017), as well as the six most recent editions, are available at http://www.seedmb.ca/digital-edition/. Also, full PDF versions are available at http://www.seedmb.ca/digital-edition/pdf-editions-and-separate-section-pdfs/ where you can download the entire […]

The Canada and Manitoba governments have provided $250,000 in research funding and $969,000 for equipment to help identify and address problems caused by canola diseases and pests, Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced today. “The canola industry is an important economic driver, and our government […]

Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (MAFRD) jointly conducted a kochia survey across Manitoba in the fall of 2013 in with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (Saskatoon Research Centre) and the University of Manitoba, funded by the Western Grains Research Foundation and BASF Canada. Plants from 283 different kochia populations were harvested, thrashed and planted […]